We’re committed to closely monitoring our environmental impact and performance while addressing key areas of concern.
We also work collaboratively with our suppliers and stakeholders to ensure our choices align with our environmental goals.
With support from Sally Dallow (Partner Lead for Responsible Business), Jon Bower (Partner Sponsor for Net Zero), and Martin Hall (Director of Facilities), we strive to continuously improve our overall environmental performance as we work towards achieving our goal of becoming net zero. The scale of the challenge we’re facing is enormous, but we’re making progress, and we recognise the importance of transparency in our efforts to shape change.
Our goals
To make tangible progress with our overall environmental performance, we’re aiming to:
- Increase the number of environmental reps throughout the business to 35
- Reduce business travel emissions by 10%
- Upgrade all monitors across the firm to a more energy efficient dual 24” TFT.
In addition, our Carbon Reduction Plan sets out the following targets:
- To reduce emissions associated with travel by 50% by 2026
- Set a minimum standard for EPCs of C in buildings through acquisition; Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM); refurbishments etc.
- Reduce paper consumption by 60% by 2026
- Increase the percentage of recycled waste across all offices whilst reducing emissions associated with waste by 50% by 2026
- Work with our landlords and managing agents to ensure our buildings source 100% renewable energy wherever possible by 2026
- Eliminate single-use plastic wherever possible, working in partnership with our suppliers including our catering contractor Vacherin.
Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) Certification
We’re committed to submitting and certifying emissions reduction targets to the SBTI. All our work to date with the Planet Mark is SBTI-aligned, and we intend to take the next step towards full certification of our targets.
To enable us to achieve this goal, we’re currently undergoing a full and extensive review of emissions since our baseline year and broadening the extent of emissions reporting to include all relevant scope 3 categories. We’ve invested significantly in new data collection and reporting tools as well as internal resource to support our efforts in this area.
Holding ourselves accountable
Womble Bond Dickinson is a founding and executive member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, participating in various LSA working groups including Business Travel and Sustainable Procurement. We’re members of Planet Mark (and by extension ‘race to zero’), the Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership (members of the Bristol Climate Leaders Group), and signatories of the Team London Bridge Decarbonisation Charter.
Celebrating our wins
As a result of the ongoing dedication and hard work of colleagues from around the business, our environmental responsibility work has gained a number of external awards and acclaim:
- Recognised as Sustainable Business of the Year at the 2024 Bristol Law Society Awards, celebrating our commitment to improving the environmental sustainability of our operations and activities across several fields, including measurable results and reductions in carbon footprint
- Recognised by Team London Bridge in their 'A Great Place to Work' Awards as one of 13 businesses in the London BID area demonstrating leadership and achievement in sustainability
- Ranked in the Legal Green Guide 2025 as a firm providing holistic solutions across the green transition, with a particular focus on green hydrogen, offshore wind, and electric mobility
- Retained our EcoVadis Gold medal for three years' running, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to sustainability
- Achieved our eighth consecutive year of certification with the Planet Mark in 2024.
"We're honoured to be recognised by the Bristol Law Society for our commitment to operating sustainably with this accolade. Striving to make the communities and environment we live and work in better for all sits at the core of how we operate, and our offices and connections with the Bristol business community are key to delivering that. This is an area where progress should never stop. We're thrilled that our sustainable initiatives continue pushing the conversation forward, be it the further procurement of green energy or the implementation of data-driven programmes to positively reduce our environmental impact, and have been recognised as they are vital to ensuring we continue working towards a positive and sustainable future.”
Jon Bower, Partner, Net Zero Lead, and Bristol Office Head at Womble Bond Dickinson
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